1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sterilizing and drying apparatus for cleaning articles and more particularly to that class adapted to be carried about by a cart having separate compartments for each functional purpose.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art abounds with sterilizers of various types. U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,922 issued on May 11, 1976 to L. E. Moulthrop teaches a sterilizer for bathroom articles for toothbrushes, dentures, combs, hairbrushes and the like having a box including a hinged lid with a mirror on the underside of the lid. A removable foraminous tray is supported above the bottom of the box and the items to be sterilized are placed thereon. A container of volatile disinfectant is disposed beneath the tray, as are also a fan and a plurality of ultraviolet lights. The mirror serves both as a vanity mirror and as a reflector to augment the action of the ultraviolet lights. The lights and the fan are in series so that the fan motor ballasts the lights. The Moulthrop device, though utilizing ultraviolet reflectors within the box relies upon the articles being sterilized therein resting upon a tray, thus precluding such light from contacting the surface of such article in touching engagement with the tray.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,638 issued on Aug. 15, 1972 to G. S. Devon discloses a drying and sterilizing cabinet especially suited for use in hospitals. The cabinet is sealed and has a dehumidifying chamber at its rear through which filtered air flows. Bacteria are killed by an arrangement of ultraviolet rays inside the cabinet. The cabinet is provided with a plurality of foraminous shelves disposed in a vertical array, one above the other, upon which the articles to be sterilized rest. This apparatus suffers substantially the same deficiency as the apparatus here and above described by Moulthrop.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,251 issued June 28, 1974 to H. O. Abernathy discloses a toothbrush drying device having an interior compartment in which heated air is circulated and in which a plurality of toothbrushes are disposed having their bristles free of engagement of a supporting apparatus, supporting the toothbrush. The Abernathy apparatus, though effectively drying the bristles of the toothbrush, both by heat and by exposure to ultraviolet, serving a sterilizing function, is totally unsuitable for use with articles having a substantial amount of moisture trapped therewithin and especially with articles whose size and shape do not permit portions of the article to extend outwardly from the compartment portion thereof.